Debate: Is Religion a Force for Good in the World?

Synopsis: Video recording of a live debate held in Toronto on 26 November 2010. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and author Christopher Hitchens debated the resolution: "be it resolved, religion is a force for good in the world." Tony Blair, a Catholic convert and founder of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, argued that religious faith has a major part to play in shaping the values which guide the modern world, and can and should be a force for progress. Mr. Hitchens, an atheist and author of God is Not Great, argued that if religious instruction were not allowed until the child had attained the age of reason, the world would be quite different.

The debaters gave opening arguments and then cross-examined each other. Then questions were submitted by members of the audience in the hall, on stage, and on line on topics including the role of religion in the Iraq war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the concept of separation of church and state. Each debater gives his final summation. The audience voted on the resolution both before and after the debate.
Language: English
Country: United States
Year of release: 2010
Year of production: 2010
Subjects: Philosophy; Religious studies
Keywords: Blair, Tony; atheism; Religion; Catholicism; moral philosophy; Hitchens, Christopher; debates

Name: C-Span Video Library
Web: http://www.c-spanvideo.org External site opens in new window
Notes: The entire library of C-SPAN, totalling over 150,000 hours of video from 1987 up to the present day, is now available for free online viewing. C-SPAN, an abbreviation of Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, has been covering US government proceedings since 1979. Compilations of footage relating to particular themes or presidents are also available for sale on DVD.

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British Universities Film & Video Council